BEST PICK

RUNNER UP

The Chase Freedom is a Visa cash back card that offers 5% cash back in select categories, which rotate every 3 months. You’ll get that rate on the first $1,500 spent per quarter in those categories, after which it drops to 1% back.

If you find yourself making purchases in these categories every year, the Freedom card could be a great addition to your wallet. Take note that you’ll need to activate the 5% bonus categories every quarter.

Here are the 5% cash back bonus categories from 2018, plus the 2019 categories for the first and second quarter:

QUARTER

5% CASH BACK CATEGORY

2018: January – March

Gas Stations, Internet/Cable/Phone Services, Various Digital Wallets

2018: April – June

Grocery Stores, PayPal, Chase Pay

2018: July – September

Gas Stations, Lyft, Walgreens

2018: October – December

Department Stores, Wholesale Clubs, Chase Pay

2019: January – March

Gas Stations, Tolls, Drugstores

2019: April – June

Grocery Stores, Home Improvement Stores

There’s also a $150 introductory cash bonus, which you can get by spending just $500 in the first 3 months after account opening. This card is issued as a Visa Platinum if your credit limit is below $5,000. If your credit limit is $5,000 or above you’ll get a Visa Signature, with slightly upgraded benefits.

You’ll get a 0% Intro APR on Purchases introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, quite a nice offer on a rewards card, with a 17.24 - 25.99% Variable APR after that.

Request Credit Limit Increase

Some credit card issuers allow you to submit a request online after you've signed in to your account.

You can also request a credit limit increase by calling the phone number on the back of your card.

When you request a credit limit increase, the credit card issuer may check your credit history, which results in a hard inquiry. This is a normal part of the process, and can cause a slight temporary decrease in your credit scores.

This is an excellent rewards card, with a pretty nice sign up bonus. I have this card coupled with the Discover It card, and choose which card to use at whichever one gives me the 5% back for that merchant (it is annoying when both cards have the same categories for the same quarter though). Having the Visa logo makes this card more widely accepted. In my experience, Chase does seem to be quite conservative about who they approve and with credit limits, however.

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE: Credit Card Insider is an independent, advertising supported website. Credit Card Insider receives compensation from some credit card issuers as advertisers. Advertiser relationships do not affect card ratings or our Best Card Picks. Credit Card Insider has not reviewed all available credit card offers in the marketplace. Content is not provided or commissioned by any credit card issuers. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information, though all credit card information is presented without warranty. When you click on any 'Apply Now' button, the most up-to-date terms and conditions, rates, and fee information will be presented by the issuer. Credit Card Insider has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Credit Card Insider and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: The editorial content on this site is not provided by the companies whose products are featured. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or evaluations provided here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser.

DISCLAIMER: All information posted to this site was accurate at the time of its initial publication. Efforts have been made to keep the content up to date and accurate. However, Credit Card Insider does not make any guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. For complete details of any products mentioned, visit bank or issuer website.

Responses to comments are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.